1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-325814 discloses a connector with a housing that has opposite front and rear ends and cavities that extend between the ends. The connector also has terminal fittings that can be inserted into the cavities from the rear end of the housing. A retainer can be inserted into a side surface of the housing and can be moved between a temporary locking position and a main locking position. The retainer has locks that are disposed alongside the cavities when the retainer is in the temporary locking position. Thus, the terminal fittings can be inserted into the cavities and removed from the cavities when the retainer is at the temporary locking position. However, the locks penetrate the cavities when the retainer is in the main locking position and hold the terminal fittings in the cavities.
The rear end of the lock of the retainer is tapered to prevent interference with the end of an electric wire caulked to the terminal fitting. However, the steep rear end of the lock may cause the front end of the lock to catch the terminal fitting when the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity and may cause the terminal fitting to shake. In this case, the terminal fitting cannot be inserted smoothly into the cavity.
Some of the cavities of the housing may intentionally be left vacant. However, an operator may erroneously insert the terminal fitting into a vacant cavity while the retainer is at the main locking position. In this situation, the front end of the terminal fitting will strike the tapered surface at the rear end of the lock of the retainer. A component of force in the retainer insertion direction will be generated on the tapered surface, and the retainer could be pressed back to the temporary locking position.
The invention has been made in view of the above-described situation. Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a connector in which a retainer held at a main locking position is prevented from being returned to a temporary locking position by being pressed by a terminal fitting erroneously inserted into a housing.